Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

It was the afternoon of our final day in Moshi, and we were gathered where we had started our trip - in Andrew's yard, with Mt. Kilimanjaro looking down upon us. This was going to be the hard part. Andrew's good friend, who had provided us with great taxi service when we needed it around the city had arrived to take us to the airport, leaving a little time for some farewell photos.

I love the photos with our son, but I have to admit that my favorite from the day is this one - Andrew's two "mamas." Now I know that he is an adult and living on his own and all that - but moms do worry, right? No need to really do that now that I've met Mama - she is taking great care of him (even if maybe he doesn't always want it) ;)

Visiting Tanzania was a trip of a lifetime, and we made memories that will last as long, indeed. However, both hubby and I said the most wonderful part of our time there was getting to spend that extended time with Andrew alone, just relaxing and talking, sharing drinks and learning more about his work, the life he has built there, and discovering the young man he has become. That's why saying goodbye was so very hard.

Monday, April 22, 2013

This was a bittersweet weekend as we were at OWU for "goalie girl's" Alumni Weekend - annual Alumni Game on Saturday and the official team banquet on Sunday.

Saturday was the last year that "goalie girl" would have been able to play with the "collegians" (all seniors play with the alumni), but since she has not yet been cleared for full contact from her shoulder surgery in December she just yelled and "coached" from the bench. So, in addition to the fun of seeing last year's seniors and some of the other alums, there was a tug at our hearts in seeing this year's seniors "crossing over" to the alumni team and realizing that our daughter would be doing the same in just one more year. The game ended in a 2-2, tie, following penalty kicks....we think. Following the game we all headed to the "soccer house," where we had set-up crock pots full of chili (yeah, did you see that temperature on Saturday? c'mon already, spring!) for everyone and caught up with parents as well.

Sunday's banquet was more food, of course, but more importantly, a chance to remember the past season and the past four years for the three seniors. Mama H. did an amazing Powerpoint for the seniors which also included the rest of the team through the years as well - lots of tears from that one. We also shed some tears when "goalie girl" earned Team MVP -- very well-deserved and we are so proud. :))) There was great laughter (and then again, from me, a few tears) when Coach forgot to call our daughter's name with the rest of the juniors -- when he noticed it from the reaction in the room, he explained that he just always thinks of her as either being a senior, or as already graduating, or as being an assistant coach because of everything she does. Again, :))) I don't know how I'm going to make it through next year's banquet!

The team looked good 2 weeks ago in their spring games debut and are busy planning for their overseas trip to England and Scotland in August before preseason. Captain (2nd year - yeah, I know, I'm bragging - Mom's rights) "goalie girl" is very busy.

This is a video of some clips from this season's games that I put together that we had running during the meal - enjoy.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

I was getting ready to post yesterday about some of the beautiful finds I discovered in "hopping" around the second reveal when the news broke in Boston. I certainly didn't feel like writing and was sure no one would be interested in reading anything.

Today, I still don't feel like writing -- typically this would be "Tuesday's Tanzania" where I share about our trip to visit son Andrew -- in a place that honestly, sometimes I worry about him...not so much in Tanzania, but when he travels for work - to Uganda, Rwanda, and to Kenya, which these days is not always a quiet place. And so, yes, as a mom, I worry...sometimes. But, now, a powerful reminder, I shouldn't worry about Andrew. The threat, the terror, the horror, the unfathomable, the unexplainable, the nightmare isn't across the ocean, in a faraway, foreign country - it is here. It is in our country. It is in our city, in our neighborhood, in our traditions. It is here. We are here. And as an FBI agent said this afternoon, "Someone knows who did this."

Someone here, here among and with us, knows who did this. I shouldn't worry anymore about my son. I should pray for Bill Richard who lost his young son, Martin, and whose wife and daughter were critically injured in yesterday's bombings. "Someone knows who did this."

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Well, I did it! I won't say I had it done days ago -- honestly, I just finished it Friday, late afternoon, and got the pictures done in the evening (explains the not-so-great lighting), but yes, I made the deadline for the 2nd Reveal of the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party! This is my first time participating in the party - great fun - and while I had plans to do a matching bracelet and earrings (oh, yes, there will be) :) - time ran out on me for those. And so.... (drum roll, please...), here it is -- "Copperline."

My bead soup partner, Mandi E., of Craft-o-licious, provided me with the beautiful focal (snake skin jasper), clasp in copper, large copper rounds, chalcedony rectangles, and jade nuggets. I added carnelian rectangles, red and green aventurine, and red sardonyx rondelles. The reason I was so late in finishing is I ended up really challenging myself with the project and changing the design at the last minute. I had just finished a wire-wrapping class and wanted to try out my new techniques (until this point, I have used beading string for my necklaces). This necklace uses copper wire to match the copper components.

Be sure to jump over to Mandi's site, Craft-o-licious to see what she created with the bead soup I sent to her (I can't wait to see!). And, for spectacular creations, here's the full list of all the second reveals -- take some time to stop by and see a lot of incredible bead soup designs. The 7th Bead Soup Blog Party has 541 participants this time from all over the world -- incredible!